Cuba: Lada, Hyundai, Geely & vintage Americans dominate

The Cuban car market structure is a fascinating testimony of the country’s last 60 years history. Its famous 1950’s American cars (60,000 are still in circulation), relics of the pre-revolutionary period, are now outnumbered by over 100,000 Lada 2105s, the most visible legacy of the country’s Cold War alliance with the Soviet Union.

The reason why so much history can be seen in Cuban streets is that it is very difficult to acquire a new car, so owners tend to stick with their cars for decades, more than 50 years in case of the ‘yank tanks’, the vintage American cars. A government minister must give approval for someone to buy a car legally, and in most cases even when it is purchased, it still belongs to the state. Only people who bought a car before the 1959 revolution or those who afterward were granted the right to purchase one for personal or political achievements actually own their vehicles.